The state government is selling a vision of a “globally recognised” suburb two minutes by train from the Parkville hospitals and Melbourne University. It promises to be a “leading centre for Victoria’s growing knowledge industries” and full of “quality and affordable housing to support diverse residents and key workers”.
Over the past decade, hectares of government land was cleared of concrete plants and crane hire businesses to become an enormous staging ground for the Metro Tunnel station works. With the huge cavities in the ground closed up and the grand station open, one chapter has closed for Arden. But the next one is just beginning.
When will the suburb appear?
It was always the intention the station would come before the rest of the suburb. However, the plan for the area changed radically last year when the Allan government cancelled the long-promised plan for two hospitals and a new medical precinct at Arden.
The official reason given was the potential for train electromagnetic interference with sensitive medical equipment, including MRI scanners.
The area was quickly rebadged as a predominantly residential neighbourhood, as the government went to market looking for a private developer partner for the 13.5-hectare state-owned site. The shortlisted consortiums vying for the lucrative rights include superannuation giant Australian Unity, developer Tim Gurner with MAB corporation, Hamton Group and Lendlease.
According to public timelines, the competing developers were obliged to submit their final masterplans by mid-2025, but it’s unclear when a developer will be chosen. When asked for an update on the process, a government spokeswoman said only that “all bids will be thoroughly evaluated before any final decisions are made”.
For Masters, the priority is clear: the government needs to crack on with building its own public infrastructure. Top of that list is a new high school.
“There would be no quicker way to activate the area than bringing the community in through a high school,” said Masters. “That would be incredible. It’s so deliverable.
“Uni High is already completely at capacity, and high school students obviously have more ability to catch trains independently [than primary students].”
In June, the state government announced $1 million funding for early planning of a new high school at Arden, but the construction timeline isn’t clear.
But only 15 hectares of the larger 44-hectare Arden precinct is government land. The development of much of the rest is in the hands of private landowners. Activity on private land is also slow – there are no pending planning permit applications in Arden– although last year The Age reported a planning permit application for a 57-storey tower on a block immediately next to the new station backed by the Myer family had been submitted. It was ultimately withdrawn.
One anomaly, though, is a gleaming 12-level office building, completed in 2024. It stands in stark contrast next to its neighbour – the Don salami-branded silos. The office building was initially intended to service the medical sector for the now-scrapped hospitals.
New and old. The newly completed office building at 88 Laurens street, next to the Don-branded silos.Credit: Rachael Dexter
Damien Adkins, of Colliers real estate, who is trying to lease out its empty office space, said the building had been through a “flat patch” after the state government axed the hospitals. However, the station opening had reignited interest.
Only about 11 per cent of the 18,000 square metres in the building is leased out to three businesses after a year of completion, but Adkins said another 9000 had interest or was under offer.
Although the hospitals aren’t going ahead, Adkins said there was still a strong interest from the medical industry and education given it was now just a train stop from Parkville.
“We’re the only new building in the area,” he said. “We’re first cab off the rank.”
A swampy challenge
Before buildings start going up on the vacant government land, a major challenge needs to be addressed: Arden’s flood risk.
Before colonisation, this section of the Moonee Ponds Creek was a significant natural swamp and flood plain. According to the government’s flood management policy, without intervention the area will could face floodwaters of up two metres in 2100 climate conditions.
Public land locked up behind fences advertising truck and trailer parking.Credit: Rachael Dexter
The policy requires expensive water infrastructure: raised and extended levees on the creek, retarding basins, major upgrades to pump stations and pressure pipes and a massive underground flood storage tank beneath the Arden Street Oval – the home turf of the North Melbourne Football Club.
A spokesman for the club said if it had to temporarily relocate during the tank installations, it was keen for a replacement oval to be built in the new suburb first.
“It’s our hope that the green space between CityLink and Fogarty St will house a second community oval that will be available for club use when this work eventually gets under way.”
But the spokesman said the club was under the impression that work was nowhere near starting in the next decade, saying: “We don’t expect work to start in the short or even medium term.”
The club is adamant it would never leave the North Melbourne area, and said the new station was a boon for fans and members coming to the ground.
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“We plan to be unique as an inner-city club, in a thriving precinct. Sporting clubs the world over are the beating heart of inner-city suburbs like Arden, and we want to play that role here.”
Mystery also hangs over another Arden neighbour. The Lost Dogs Home has been in negotiations for years with the state government over its required relocation as its premises have been earmarked to become a water retarding basin. Earlier this year, The Age reported those talks had reached an impasse. A spokeswoman for the animal shelter said this week the situation had not changed.
“We don’t have anything new to add to this,” she said. “Any questions about the development should be directed to the [government].”
Bring down the fence
While there is a 30-year journey ahead, with many questions yet unanswered, Masters wants to see action immediately by bringing down the fences around the station.
“Just activating the green space would be nice,” she said. “Wouldn’t you just let that be used by the community as an open space, especially coming into summer?”
Mary Masters with her children, Gideon, 10, and Rupert, 8. Credit: Wayne Taylor
When approached, the City of Melbourne said it had no authority to do anything on the state-controlled land to activate it. The state government did not respond to questions about the original plan for new parklands to be delivered in 2025.
“Let the community activate it,” is Masters’ solution. “North and West Melbourne and Kensington have a huge concentration of creatives, tap into them and you would get a hundred ideas overnight – artist-curated maker’s markers, multilateral events, live music.
“It’s such an easy win while we wait for development to begin and the first residents to move in.”
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